Keira Knightley posed topless for a magazine on the condition that her body would not be retouched or manipulated in any way. She has spoken out against the frequent manipulation of women's bodies in media, such as enlarging her breasts on a movie poster without her consent. Knightley believes women's bodies are often a "battleground" and that photography can be partly to blame for unrealistic body standards, as it is easier to airbrush away a woman's natural shape than to capture it authentically.

1. Listening and reading exercises
Identity: Women in media
Keira Knightley is an actress who has recently made the headlines for posing
topless in a magazine.
•What makes her attitude different from other celebrities posing
topless in magazines?
After watching this you tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0VuQPWjDYPM) you will be able to answer the question.
Watch it again and answer the following questions:
1. What was Keira’s condition for posing topless?
2. According to Keira, how often has her body been manipulated? Why?
3. Why was the cover of her film King Arthur controversial?
4. Who is to blame
The words and expressions on the left column are heard in the you tube video covering
Keira's protest. Match them with their synonyms in the right hand column.
1. issue a) polemical
2. controversial b) follow the example of another
3. enhance c) place the responsibility for a fault
4. battleground d) point, matter, concern
5. blame e) area of conflict
6. follow suit f) falsify
7. manipulate g) augment
8. address the issue h) direct attention to

2. Keira says women's bodies are a battleground. Read this article from The guardian Fashion blog
and try to explain what she means with your own words.
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/nov/07/keira-knightley-on-going-topless-in-
protest-at-the-use-of-womens-bodies-as-a-battleground/print
Keira Knightley’s decision to pose topless on the cover of Interview magazine might have seemed a
controversial move. But the star of new film The Imitation Game has admitted her decision to bare
all on the cover of the September issue was in fact a protest against the media for its damaging
attitude towards body image.
Speaking to the Times this week, Knightley said she only agreed to pose topless for photographer
Patrick Demarchelier on the proviso that the image would remain untouched by Photoshop or any
other editing procedures: “That [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘I’ve had my body
manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi
photographers or for film posters. And that [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine
doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel
important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.”
She continued: “I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame. It’s
much easier to take a picture of somebody without a shape; it simply is. Whereas actually you need
tremendous skill to be able get a woman’s shape and make it look like it does in life, which is
always beautiful. But our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of
those different varieties of shape.”
It’s not the first time the actress has spoken out about her breasts being Photoshopped. She admitted
to being “shocked” after seeing her breasts enlarged on the film poster for 2004’s King Arthur, later
telling a US magazine: “Those things certainly weren’t mine.”
Keira and films
Keira is now 29 years old. In the film Bend it like Beckham (2002) she was in her late teens and
played the part of Jules. Do you
remember the scene where Jules'
mum wants to convince her to buy a
padded push up bra?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=o5_2NEAEdaQ (minute 4'15)
Watch it again.
Do you think that keira's had
Jules character in mind when she
said that her body had often been
manipulated?